Polarization based detection is often accomplished by using two separate components, reflectivity/emissivity and polarization, as detection algorithm inputs. These are Stokes vector components and are derived from elementary factors that represent energy collected with different polarizers. The elementary factors are added to produce the reflectivity/emissivity component and subtracted to produce the polarization component. Using the reflectivity/emissivity and polarization clearly addresses the advantage of using polarization as an added discriminant. However, depending on the detection algorithm, it may be better to use the elementary factors as input into a detection algorithm. A constant false alarm rate detection algorithm derived from a maximum likelihood is used as a foundation for judging target detection with these two different inputs. The results are presented for detecting man-made objects on natural backgrounds. The data cover two incident light sources: natural light, which is unpolarized and a linearly polarized laser. Detection using the elementary factors is shown to be consistent with detection using the Stokes vector components and is shown to decrease the false alarm rate.
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